Page 57 of Dragon's Revenge

“I didn’t fully embrace that truth until I became part of this pack,” Jermon said when the laughter had died down. “And even then, it took a while. The idea that omegas were worthless was so deeply ingrained that it wasn’t easy to see the truth.”

“Same,” Blair said. “Even when I started to recognize that the way omegas were treated in our clan was wrong, it was still a journey to get to the point where I fully embraced them as equals. And I still mess up sometimes.”

“But so do we,” Gael said softly. “I have a hard time speaking up against alphas, even when I know I’m right or have been encouraged to say something. Old habits die hard, as they say.”

Words burned inside Oliver. Words he wanted to say to contribute, to share his experience, but he’d never spoken up in public. And this was a pack meeting where literally everyone was present. But wasn’t his fear exactly the point Rhene was trying to make? Oliver knew he had the right to say something, that no one would shush him or tell him to shut up. But he still hesitated.

Then suddenly, something inside him shifted, and he rose, still clinging to Delton’s hand. “I still don’t fully believe it.”

It came out little more than a whisper, but a wave of gasps traveled through the barn. Rhene’s eyes widened before he caught himself. “Why is it hard for you to accept?”

Oliver swallowed, but a squeeze from Delton gave him courage. “I was raised with the idea that I was nothing, that what I thought or felt or wanted didn’t matter. And when you hear something often enough, you start to believe it. And after so many years of hearing that message, it’s hard for me to believe something different, even when I see the evidence every day.”

Delton rose too. “Can I add something?” he asked Oliver, who nodded immediately.

“These thought patterns have a neurobiological cause called neural pathways. Our brain likes to function on routines because it’s efficient and doesn’t like to waste effort and energy. The more often we do something—whether it’s a thought, a reaction, or something physical—the deeper that neural pathway is. For example, if you reward yourself with a cold Coke every time you’ve done a workout, your brain will reach for one automatically, even when you may want to skip or stop. In the same way, the more often we hear a statement, the deeper that neural pathway becomes…and the harder it will be to change it.”

Delton was so good at explaining these things in a way that helped everybody understand them, even Oliver, with his limited education. He might not comprehend how these neural pathways formed exactly, but he had no trouble following the concept, and it made total sense to him.

Delton sent him a sweet look. “In Oliver’s case, it was more indoctrination than anything else, which makes it even harder to break out of those thought patterns…though he’s trying hard.”

Oliver nodded. “I want to believe I’m equal and worthy of being loved and all that, but it’s gonna take time.”

“Thank you so much for sharing that.” Rhene beamed with pride. “That was courageous of you, Oliver, and we’re all so very proud of you.”

Another round of applause broke out and tears formed in Oliver’s eyes. He quickly sat down, too overwhelmed by all the attention. Delton wrapped his arm around Oliver and pulled him close. “Well done, baby.”

Those whispered words meant more than any compliment Oliver had ever received.

Rhene looked around the barn again. “In the same way as Oliver was indoctrinated to believe he was worthless, Duff Bás was raised with the notion that all dragons are evil and there is no honor among dragons. He’s never heard anything else, so how could he be expected to embrace a different truth?”

Fergal rose. “In all fairness, there hasn’t been a lot of evidence to the contrary either. If he’d been at the Dragon Council, he would’ve seen his opinions confirmed.”

“That was my thought exactly…and I even told him as much,” Rhene said as Fergal sat down again. “There is a lot of evidence of dragons being evil and doing evil. But there are still good dragons left, and many of them are in this barn right now. When Duff told me he wanted to kill my mate”—Rhene’s voice broke, and he needed a moment to compose himself—“I knew I had to find a way to convince him Erwan was different. That Erwan’s brothers were different. That the True Doyle clan is different. But how could I persuade him? Nothing I could’ve told him would’ve ever made a difference, not when his convictions were so deeply rooted.”

“And so you saw no other way but to bring him here and let him experience it for himself,” Wilmer said, then sighed deeply. “Fuck, I hate it, but you’re not wrong.”

“If I could have discussed it first with all of you and asked for your permission, I would have,” Rhene said apologetically. “But for obvious reasons, that was not an option. So I brought him here, guaranteeing him no one would harm him.”

“No one will,” Sivney said, and it sounded as much a promise as a threat. “Even those who don’t agree with your decision will not harm him. Revenge is not who we are.”

Hmm, Oliver wasn’t sure if he agreed with that. Hadn’t Adar exacted revenge on Dempsey by fighting and killing him? Or was there a difference between avenging and revenging? He didn’t think there was, but he’d have to ask Delton later. Delton would know. He knew pretty much everything.

“How long will he stay?” Blair asked.

“We haven’t set a limit upon his stay,” Rhene answered.

“Did he agree to any rules on not using what he learns here against us?” Fallon asked.

Rhene shook his head. “I wasn’t in a position to make demands, sorry. He could’ve simply refused my proposal, and I would’ve had no way of escaping.”

“So we’re dependent on his honor now?” Jermon asked. “Not gonna lie, that worries me. It’s not like the dragon slayers have shown a lot of honor thus far.”

“No, but neither have the dragons he’s met,” Rhene countered. “I hope that Duff having the opportunity to see with his own eyes how the pack and the clan function will show him that not all dragons are the same.”

“And what if he’s not convinced? What if one of us fucks up, and he uses that as proof dragons are evil?” Fallon asked. Not an unreasonable question, Oliver thought. “Like, how much leeway do we get for honest mistakes? None of us are perfect, and this is a lot of pressure on us dragons.”

“I agree,” Valdis said. “Like, does he need to see five good dragons? Ten? Fifteen?”

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